After a long hiatus, I return to listing my candidates for my list of top ten personally influential games

By the winter of 2006, I had completed a major transition in my life. I'd already completed a year and a half of college, was working a steady job, and was finally coming to the decision to pursue a career in writing, a decision that come to define the rest of my life. With this transition into adulthood, came the money and motivation to finally buy a home console for myself. Leading into the launch of the XBox 360 in 2005, I found myself wishing for a console that was cheaper, less concerned with graphics, and providing simple, compelling gameplay. In 2006, Nintendo, a company for which I already had an undying loyalty, delivered on my wishes with the launch of the Nintendo Wii. To this day, it is the only console I have ever camped out overnight for, and remains one of my all time favorite game consoles to this day.

Mario Strikers Charged

There are some games that become signficant for reasons beyond their ability to innovate or play to one's personal taste. A game comes along at just the right time in life, giving you just what you need exactly when you need it. For me, that game is Mario Strikers Charged. I first got this game right after me and my closest brother had both gone through tough break-ups. For the next year we pretty much hung out every Saturday night, forgetting the pain of love lost and just enjoying gaming again like we had when we were kids. Strikers was our game of choice (along with Gunstar Heroes) from its release until Super Smash Brothers Brawl came out in March. We knew every trick, heard every forum debate, and even competed with some of the top rated players from time to time. To this day Strikers holds a special place in heart, not only for being a great game, but for having the staying power to get me through a tough time in my life.

Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

You've already heard me talk quite a bit about my love for the Metroid franchise, as well as the Metroid Prime games in particular. MP3 was a logical step forward on the Wii, bringing motion controlled first person action to life for the first time. This was a game that had almost everything I loved about the first Metroid Prime, while introducing a sleeker graphical style, wonderful new NPCs, and a combat system that was above and beyond what I could have expected. Until the release of High Voltage Software's "The Conduit," MP3 held the title as best-controlled FPS on the Wii, and still ranks quite high today. It is my sincerest wish that more Prime-style games grace the upcoming Wii U, as I'd be ecstatic to see what Retro Studios could do by refining their already monumental achievement on a new platform.

Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

The game that would be king. I picked up Skyward Sword just this past March, after going through another painful break-up. I'm a pretty poor gamer right now, and can only afford a full retail game once in a blue moon. I had the cash after the break-up for one game, and I chose Skyward Sword. Right now, I cannot objectively rate this game against another other contender for my top ten (as it's just too fresh), but I wanted to give a special mention here as being the first Zelda to possibly topple Ocarina of Time. Skyward Sword improves on many of OoT's elements, from combat to graphic design to plot direction to storytelling. I simply loved this game, mostly because it got right everything that Twilight Princess got wrong. It didn't try to simply ape OoT, but moved on and innovated the series in an incredible way. I never want to play another 3D Zelda game without 1-to-1 sword control, nor do I ever want to play another Zelda that's "grim and gritty." Only time will tell if Skyward Sword has what it takes to surpass it's noble predecessors, and I sincerely look foward to seeing where it ends up on my next top ten list in 2019.

Super Smash Brothers Brawl

I've spoken twice before of my love for the Super Smash Brothers Series. The original SSB introduced me to a free moving fighting game like none I'd ever played, while Melee dominated my life and brought me into the world of competitive gaming. I continued down that walk with Brawl, hosting online tournaments, attending live events, and even serving as a staff writer on AllisBrawl and the short-lived Wifi Wars. But what makes Brawl stand out from the other games in the series is the sheer scope of the game's features. The great wealth of characters, stages, achievements, and especially music, all went above and beyond what anyone could have expected.